NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) – Law enforcement officers have arrested at least nine people allegedly involved in a cross-country drug trafficking group and seized between $2.6 million and $3.8 million in methamphetamines along with fentanyl, oxycodone, more than two dozen guns and $135,000 in cash, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office said Tuesday.
District Attorney Kevin Steele said that Tyrone Baker, 29 from East Lansdowne, Ricky Evans, 28 from Los Angeles, Shakeem Johnson, 27 from Philadelphia, Joshua Quiles, 31 from King of Prussia and Jhamir Winans, 21 from Exton, were all arrested.
“We have before you a deadly and cheap drug that is flooding our streets crystal methamphetamine,” said Steele, while standing behind a table displaying 80 pounds of meth and numerous guns which were seized in a recent sweep in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs.
The investigation began when Chase Smith, 29 from Upper Darby, sold two pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover officer in Bala Cynwyd.
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“All told, this drug trafficking organization is believed to have been responsible for illegally trafficking more than 800 pounds of methamphetamine," said Steele.
Steele says Evans was shipping the meth, which originated in Mexico, through the postal service, UPS and FedEx.
“It's now becoming a myth that that meth was being produced by these biker gangs in a bathtub out in the woods,” said Steele. “Nowadays, meth is made in high tech super labs in Mexico.”
He added that it’s cheap to make so dealers are pushing it, which has led to a rise in meth-related overdoses over the past several years.
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“It's high quality. It's cheap and it's deadly,” said Steele. “People need to understand that this is a drug that is killing people, not just here in Montgomery County, not just in Pennsylvania, but across our country.”
Law enforcement seized 83 pounds of methamphetamine which has a street value of between $2.6 million and $3.8 million, the District Attorney’s office said. The postal service also seized about 60 pounds of methamphetamine, according to officials.
Each of the five named suspects face more than 100 felony counts in the investigation. Bail for Baker and Winans have both had bail set at $3 million, while Johnson and Quiles’ bail have been set at $1 million.
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